***We Are Special to God!**

        It has been estimated that our universe contains at least 200 billion trillion stars. The Lord God who created this immense universe also created us—tiny as we are—and gave us life, free will, and the ability to communicate with him. This should make us realize that we are incredibly special to God, a truth confirmed by the coming of Christ, who brought us the good news of salvation. We must appreciate the Lord and never deprecate ourselves again.

***The Light of My Life***

        John 8:12, on which today's Gospel Acclamation is based, reads, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." To me, Christ the Lord is the light of my life, for he has made me see the whole truth—what is right and what is wrong. By following him, I shall never fall again!

**Today's Delight**

        From today's Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 37:4 reads, "Take delight in the LORD, and he will grant you your heart’s requests." This verse is an absolute delight to me!

***What to Know About Judgment Day***

        In today's First Reading from 1 Corinthians, Paul writes, "It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself... the one who judges me is the Lord." This is the perfect attitude: We should not judge anyone, ourselves included. This way, we focus completely on serving and honoring the Lord. Paul continues, "Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts...." We must be careful with our motives, for if our hearts are not clean, our motives will likely prompt us to sin. Ultimately, for all those who have nothing to hide, judgment day will be a glorious day!

****A Very Special Joy****

        Every sin starts with a thought. The moment I sense a bad thought emerging and can dismiss it outright, I feel triumphant that through God's grace, I can remain unstained. It is pure joy to realize that our mighty, loving, heavenly Father can truly transform us into holiness. It's a dream come true!

***How to Make Sure You'll Be Saved***

        "Belief in Christ and you will be saved"—it's not quite that simple. It depends upon how much you believe in him. If you still live mostly for yourself, you are a Christian in name only. To be a bona fide Christian, you should strive to follow Christ with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. In other words, you should surrender your entire will to his—that is, let him truly be your Lord. This is the challenge we all face and the standard by which we'll be measured. When you surrender yourself to him totally, he will accomplish that for you effortlessly! Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21—"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."

**Mean Business When You Pray**

        When we recite structured or formal prayers such as the Our Father, it is easy to say them perfunctorily while the mind is thinking about something else. Once, while I was praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet right in front of a small Divine Mercy image hanging on a wall at home, I closed my eyes and focused on praying it from my very soul. The closeness of the Lord that I felt right there and then has been unforgettable to this day. Therefore, when you pray, take your time and mean what you say, and the Lord will reward you for it. We reap what we sow.

**Let Us Welcome Jesus**

        In today's reading from Luke 5, Jesus called Simon the fisherman to be a fisher of men. After Jesus finished speaking to the crowds from Simon's boat, he asked him to lower the net into deep water for a catch. Simon replied, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." This reaction is normal, for he had not yet realized that Jesus could forgive sins. Otherwise, he would have repented of his sins and asked Jesus to take them away. Therefore, we as sinners need to welcome the Lord into our lives instead of running away from him.

***Why God Is Worthy of Our Worship**

        The fact that the Lord God is most holy is enough for us to worship and adore him, to say nothing of his great love for us.

***Spiritual "Secrets"***

        A vain soul remains distant from God, whereas the childlike find union with the Lord effortlessly.

***The Riddle of Life Solved**

        Because we inherited original sin, we will all physically die. We are merely passing through this earth, and now is the time to get ready to enter our next life. How we live now determines how we shall live later, forever. I am absolutely sure that if we follow Jesus faithfully now, we will be back with God our creator in heaven for all eternity.

**Knowing Our Place**

        In today's First reading from 1 Corinthians 3, Paul reminds us that we all work for God, and he alone causes us to grow spiritually. We are merely channels through which the Lord does the work; nothing more.

***Most Precious Lord***

        How shall I praise the Lord today? These verses from Matthew 13 come to my mind: "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it." Jesus is the ultimate treasure and the finest pearl. The joy of "possessing" him is out of this world!

***What Is Your Ideal God?*

        Let us suppose that you don't know God and have never heard of Jesus, and you are asked to tell me what kind of God you would like to have. I don't think this will be easy. Suppose you want God to be like a genie in a bottle who can grant you whatever you wish for. Obviously, that won't work—what if someone else wishes that you don't get your wish? Maybe you want your God to be the most powerful king who will destroy all your enemies. That will not work either. I really don't think we can come up with a valid answer. Then the Lord God revealed himself to us. He is our Father and Creator who loves us so much that he sent his own Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place. Now we are redeemed from sin and will inherit eternal life if we believe in him. This is the amazing truth, a great surprise! We are taught not to be self-centered, but to love, be humble, and accept suffering—it is through suffering that we come to know God.

***Our Great God***

        In Psalm 145, today's Responsorial Psalm, these two verses describe our God beautifully: "The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works." I know that he is holy, perfect, and worthy of our absolute trust. Above all, out of pure love, he desires to save us from sin and grant us eternal life. Let us start rejoicing in him forever!